ASTM D6033-16
Standard Guide for Describing the Functionality of a Groundwater Modeling Code

Standard No.

ASTM D6033-16

Release Date

2016

Published By

American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)

Latest

ASTM D6033-16

Scope

4.1 Groundwater modeling is an important methodology in support of the planning and decision-making processes involved in groundwater management. Groundwater models provide an analytical framework for obtaining an understanding of the mechanisms and controls of groundwater systems and the processes that influence their quality, especially those caused by human intervention in such systems. Increasingly, models are an integral part of water resources assessment, protection and restoration studies, and provide needed and cost-effective support for planning and screening of alternative policies, regulations, and engineering designs affecting groundwater.3

4.2 There are many different groundwater modeling codes available, each with their own capabilities, operational characteristics, and limitations. If modeling is considered for a project, it is important to determine if a particular code is appropriate for that project, or if a code exists that can perform the simulations needed for the project.

4.3 In practice, it is often difficult to determine the capabilities, operational characteristics, and limitations of a particular groundwater modeling code from the documentation, or even impossible without actual running the code for situations relevant to the project for which a code is to be selected due to incompleteness, poor organization, or incorrectness of a code's documentation.4

4.4 Systematic and comprehensive description of a code's features based on an informative classification provides the necessary basis for efficient selection of a groundwater modeling code for a particular project or for the determination that no code exists. This guide is intended to encourage correctness, consistency, and completeness in the description of the functions, capabilities, and limitations of an existing groundwater modeling code through the formulation of a code classification system and the presentation of code description guidelines.

1.1 This guide presents a systematic approach to the classification and description of computer codes used in groundwater modeling. Due to the complex nature of fluid flow and biotic and chemical transport in the subsurface, many different types of groundwater modeling codes exist, each having specific capabilities and limitations. Determining the most appropriate code for a particular application requires a thorough analysis of the problem at hand and the required and available resources, as well as a detailed description of the functionality of potentially applicable codes.

1.2 Typically, groundwater modeling codes are non-parameterized mathematical descriptions of the causal relationships among selected components of the aqueous subsurface and the chemical and biological processes taking place in these systems. Many of these codes focus on the presence and movement of water, dissolved chemical species and biota, either under fully or partially saturated conditions, or a combination of these conditions. Other codes handle the joint movement of water and other fluids, either as a gas or a nonaqueous phase liquid, or both, and the complex phase transfers that might take place between them. Some codes handle interactions between the aqueous subsurface (for exa......

ASTM D6033-16 Referenced Document

• ASTM D5447 Standard Guide for Application of a Numerical Groundwater Flow Model to a Site-Specific Problem
• ASTM D5490 Standard Guide for Comparing Ground-Water Flow Model Simulations to Site-Specific Information
• ASTM D5609 Standard Guide for Defining Boundary Conditions in Ground-Water Flow Modeling
• ASTM D5610 Standard Guide for Defining Initial Conditions in Ground-Water Flow Modeling
• ASTM D5611 Standard Guide for Conducting a Sensitivity Analysis for a Ground-Water Flow Model Application
• ASTM D5718 Standard Guide for Documenting a Groundwater Flow Model Application
• ASTM D653 Standard Terminology Relating to Soil, Rock, and Contained Fluids

ASTM D6033-16 history

• 2016 ASTM D6033-16 Standard Guide for Describing the Functionality of a Groundwater Modeling Code
• 1996 ASTM D6033-96(2008) Standard Guide for Describing the Functionality of a Ground-Water Modeling Code
• 1996 ASTM D6033-96(2002) Standard Guide for Describing the Functionality of a Ground-Water Modeling Code
• 1999 ASTM D6033-96e1 Standard Guide for Describing the Functionality of a Ground-Water Modeling Code